Eczema drug restores hair growth in patient with longstanding alopecia

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) physicians are reporting an unexpected side-effect from treatment with dupilumab, which is FDA approved for the treatment of moderate to severe eczema, also called atopic dermatitis. In the case by Maryanne Makredes Senna, MD, of the MGH Department of Dermatology, senior author et al., report published in JAMA Dermatology, the physicians describe how their 13-year-old patient, who has alopecia totalis - a total lack of scalp hair - along with eczema, experienced significant hair regrowth while being treated with dupilumab, a drug marketed under the brand name Dupixent. "We were quite surprised since this patient hadn't grown scalp hair since the age of 2, and other treatments that can help with hair loss did not in her case," says Maryanne Makredes Senna. "As far as we know, this is the first report of hair regrowth with dupilumab in a patient with any degree of alopecia areata." In addition to longstanding alopecia, this patient had experienced extensive, treatment-resistant eczema since the age of 7 months. Treatment with prednisone and methotrexate, medications that can suppress the overactive immune system, led to limited improvement in the patient's…